Namco Bandai blames arcade closures on Wii

Japanese publisher Namco Bandai has reported that it will be closing a large number of its arcades, according to a report by Reuters. The company is citing the growing popularity of Nintendo's Wii in Japan as the main reason that arcades are losing popularity.

Company spokesperson Yuji Machida commented, "A lot of the types of games that people played at an arcade can now be done at home [with the Wii]."

Wii Fit recently launched in Japan with the Wii Balance Board peripheral, which allows gamers to practise yoga and other balance exercises, including virtual surfing and ski jumping similar to some arcade games. The Wii Blaster also allows gamers to use their Wii Remotes like arcade light guns to shoot on-screen enemies.

He added that another factor was the growing price of petrol, meaning that Japanese families have been cutting back on their trips to big shopping centres to save on fuel costs.

The company also released its figures for the company's financial third quarter, ending December 31. Net sales were up slightly over the same period the previous financial year at ¥336 billion/$3.2 billion (compared to ¥331 billion/$3.1 billion), operating income was down 20 percent to ¥26 billion/$244 million (compared to ¥32 billion/$300 million), and net income was down to ¥15 billion/$141 million (compared to ¥20 billion/$189 million).

Namco Bandai also amended its projections for the full financial year ending March 31--net sales are now expected to total ¥465 billion/$4.4 billion, a raise of 1.3 percent, whereas operating income has been decreased by 19.5 percent to ¥34 billion/$320 million, and net income down 32 percent to ¥16.5 billion/$155 million.

Namco Bandai's shares were down to ¥1,095 ($10.30) at the close of the Tokyo stock market today, a 27 percent slide since Tuesday morning.